We made it into Santiago mid-afternoon. After a short break – to settle in with our casa hosts – we met again for a tour of the town center with its squares, historical buildings and the cathedral.
Lunch Stop in Bayamo
We had another half day of driving ahead of us to get from Camagüey to Santiago de Cuba. Around halfway we stopped in Bayamo to get some street pizza (i.e. pizza sold in little private shops for local pesos … good and cheap) and to get a glimpse of town.
Camagüey
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We had one full day and two nights in Camagüey … and the oddest accommodation on the trip – a one star hotel. We got an introduction to town during a walking tour of town in the morning; the afternoon … Continue reading
On the Road to Camagüey
We had a late start this morning (no wonder – most of us made it back to the casas only around 3:30 am, one even later) and left Trinidad around midday – heading for our next destination Camagüey. On the way we had a stop at a former plantation in the back country of Trinidad with the chance to make our own sugar cane juice and get a bird’s eye view from a nearby tower.
More Trinidad Impressions
We returned from the hike in the early afternoon – enough time for further explorations of town and to check out some of the museums.
The night saw us attending an Afro-Cuban music/ dancing performance, followed by dancing on our part in The Cave – a nightclub in (you guessed it right) a cave.
Hike to Javira Waterfall
Today saw us leaving town once more for the day … this time into the jungle for a hike to the Javira waterfall … a 3.5 km hike one way with a refreshing dip at the waterfall (and an interesting bat cave behind the waterfall).
Catamaran Trip
Most of the group decided to join in for a full day catamaran trip to one of the outlying islands – Cayo Blanco. We left Trinidad in the morning, made it to the pier; after a good 1.5 hours of sailing we got a chance to hop into the water for a bit of snorkeling around a reef. Lunch was included on the island – and so were the drinks … including (nearly) unlimited rum … it was a good, funny & sunny day 😉
Into Trinidad
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From Cienfuegos we continued to Trinidad, a well preserved colonial town near the Caribbean coast … complete with colonial-style houses and cobblestone streets. After moving into new casas, we – similar to Cienfuegos – met up again for a tour … Continue reading
Cienfuegos
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We continued a further 1.5 hours to Cienfuegos; here we had the first casas particulares waiting for us. A casa particular essentially is a truly Cuban accommodation option – somewhere between a bed and breakfast and a homestay. These casas (Spanish for … Continue reading
Che Guevara Monument
We left Havana in the morning – our first major stop (after hamburgers for lunch at a roadhouse on the way) being at the monument of Ernesto Che Guevara in Santa Clara. Here Natalia gave us an overview of his life and how he helped in and influenced the Cuban revolution: we also had the opportunity to get into his mausoleum.
From the monument we made it to the place of the main last battle against the Batista dictatorship – a mere 15 minutes bus ride away. It was here that Che and 18 companions derailed an armored train in 1958 – a major victory for the revolution.
